'And yet here we were, anyway, hurtling through the dark toward each other under a hundred million stars, and set to collide disastrously. Logic wouldn’t save us and neither would the dwindling pile of days. We had all the time in the world to make a terrible mistake.'

Ernest Hemingway was stormy weather, why should a love affair with the man be any less tumultuous. This is a gorgeous story about Hemmingway and his lover and third wife Martha Gellhorn. She knows falling in love with the married father of two sons will spell disaster and yet it is inevitable, their mutual need undeniable. At the beginning of the novel, Marty is a disappointment to her father, living a little too carefree for the times. Passionate about a literary career, and certainly not one to settle down and live the life of the ‘little woman’, her writing comes off as vulgar to her father who shames her. A distance opens between them, if war is a shadow so is the shame that remains in her heart after her father’s death. Martha travels to Madrid to write about the Civil War, at great risk to herself, and is moved by the horrors and struggle of the people. Ernest falls in love not just with her youth and beauty but her hunger and courage to the cause.

Hemingway and his women often leave a sour taste in the mouths of wiser ladies, but it’s not hard to imagine how someone as brilliant as Gellhorn could fall under the spell of her idol. She was in awe of him when they met, already a fan and when his attention turns to her, well she caved. It’s not hard to think of his long-suffering wife Pauline Pfeiffer with compassion, birthing his children, steering Ernest as well as only the best of women could and then left for someone younger. She too was a journalist when she met Ernest, and its interestig to note while she supported Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War, he supported the Republicans. A point of contention? Hemmingway needed his woman to understand his passions, to support his causes and Gellhorn was on his side, using the might of her words to bring attention to the suffering. She is born to passion in his embrace, but she notices the early warning signs about Ernest, the weather within him, the resentment and sulking, over exaggerated anger when he isn’t getting his own way.

Martha was a bold woman, meeting Ernest opened doors, it cannot be denied, but she had to claw her way to write as a woman during the war. Suffering the dismissal of critics simply for being tied to him and their forbidden love, she was blasted in reviews. Ernest wasn’t her sole passion, she traveled all over the world to write about pressing issues as a great war correspondent, writing on every conflict during her long career. She was unorthodox, an original and if you detest her for stealing a married Hemingway then she redeems herself by choosing her work rather than giving in to his demands that she be still, anchor herself where he wills her. If it meant being punished for her comings and goings, so be it. She dared to leave Ernest, and there is no return to love after that. Everything in Hemingway’s life is beautiful so long as his career is flourishing and Martha is there when he needs her. Ernest was a connoisseur of women, that’s no secret but he was also tortured, and one always wonders how someone tries to fill themselves to quiet the noise in their own mind. He surrounded himself with exciting people, most alive in dangerous situations (an adrenaline junkie?) had a bottomless need for adventure and yet at times his mood would turn and he’d close up into himself. Could he have loved more than one woman, or the ideal of her, why not? It’s his staying power that is questionable. His family certainly has struggles with mental illness, and there is so much conflicting information out there, was he bipolar, or was it possibly head traumas that one thing is certain, he had inner battles and how could that not have been a source of trouble in his love life? Maybe turning to fresh new love was running away as much as his escape to Key West or wherever he went to get away from his family.

At the start of their affair, Martha desperately needs his approval. It was a ‘wonderful and awful’ love. In the raw days, she is of use, she fits in with the people who surround Hemingway and even in the moments when she feels small, and monstrous things are happening around her, this is still the life she would never trade. “I had said yes. And yes always came with a price.” Even if he belonged to someone else, she could not let him go. She is as hooked as the many fish he catches. When they are away from the madness of the world, in Cuba (their own little heaven), the days seem to stretch before them in this paradise. But time will feast on the lovers, as it does us all, and the world won’t be kept at bay. When Time magazine takes a bite out of Martha, diminishing her success Ernest is concerned only with himself. It is the beginning of their love souring, it is as if he must eclipse all those who love him and she is no exception.

Martha went on to have a full, rich life as a war correspondent after her marriage to Ernest. If you’ve read anything about Gellhorn, she is quoted as saying feminists “did a disservice to women branding us as ‘women writers’.” Her argument being, no one says ‘men writers’ about material written by men and yet she was a trailblazer, herself a woman working in a field dominated by men in the 20th century, and it cannot be ignored that the war zones weren’t exactly teeming with women. She lived her life as she wanted it, known to be a prickly, irritable person, intolerant of ‘bores’, a fighter for humanity and yet not a great lover of people individually. A private person. She was so much more than just ‘Hemingway’s lover.’ This is a woman who stowed away on a hospital ship to come ashore on D-Day, how is that for feminism? If Hemingway was her idol in her youth, she outgrew him.

We’re not supposed to care much for the ‘other woman’, are we? The funny thing is, I cared more about her than her idol (Ernest). Anyone could see that Martha and Ernest’s paradise wouldn’t last, because his heart was fickle, he had his own demons within’, his need was all consuming and she was becoming a woman who would not be confined by love anymore than society’s expectations. Was it her awe of him, the war raging around them, or selfish desires that pushed them together, who can say? It was passionate while it lasted, and they loved each other enough to marry, he took Martha as his wife 3 weeks after his divorce from Pffiefer was final. Martha was a woman who could never be happy with a diluted life. That she should choose between Ernest and a career was the end of it all. Love that wants to swallow a woman, make her forget her outside interests and dreams was not a love for Martha. Yet, when they first collide and love explodes it sets them afire, for a time.

Paula McLain wrote a beautiful love story not just about Ernest Hemingway and Martha Gellhorn’s affair and marriage, but a love for one woman’s purpose in life that eventually surpassed what she shared with Hemmingway. Yes, read it!

Publication Date: May 1, 2018

Random House

Ballantine

4 obsession stars

There are some people who are driven. It can become an obsession that ultimately destroys what is good, what is needed, and even love if it is allowed to continue unabated.

For Ernest Hemingway, his obsession with life and writing was eventually something that would be his downfall. He was a person who believed himself to be bigger than life, perhaps even better that life itself. He was in so many ways his own sunshine and the people who fell at his feet nurtured that in him. When he meets and falls in love with Martha Gellhorn, still being married to his second wife Pauline, they embark on a journey that will ultimately leave the both of them bereft and adrift. For Ernest, he easily moves on to the next Mrs Hemingway, but for Martha driven herself to be the competitor in Ernest's life, she seems to always be burdened with finding the next windmill to battle. For Ernest if you didn't love him and acquiesce to his needs, you were thrown out and dismissed, not one to be trifled with. He was so caught up in himself that he neglected to see others. He was the ultimate man's man, a person who men wanted to be and women wanted to be near. Martha was a woman who wanted desperately to be independent, be her own person, go her own way. The fact that they were both writers and ultimately competitors was a prophet of doom foretelling where this union would end.

Martha was also a driven person. She always was looking to insert herself into danger, into situations where people were obsessed with the throes of wartime and warfare, also chasing that dream of being acknowledged, being worthy meaning something other than being Mrs Hemingway. They were happy for a time. They fed into each other's egos, but the writing was on the wall and as they both struggled for recognition, they forgot the things that brought them together. Jeremy Irving once said "Determination becomes obsession and then it becomes all that matters" To Martha and Ernest the fire, the love, the obsession they once had for one another originally burnt too bright for it not to eventually fizzle and die.

Thank you to Paula McLain who in her books has made the Mrs Hemmingways become alive to this reader and both Ballantine Books and Netgalley for making an advanced copy available to me.

I only moderately enjoyed Paula McLain’s last two books, but I had seen other reviews which said this book was better. But I can’t say I found it to be much of an improvement. In the beginning, Martha Gelhorn comes off as the stereotypical socialite rebelling against her background. And for all her talk of independence, Marty never feels complete without a man.

She quickly meets Ernest Hemingway and he sweeps her into a different life. I actually had to do the math. He comes off as much older than her, when in actuality, there’s just a 9 year age difference. It doesn’t help that he calls her “Daughter”.

Initially, I had trouble connecting with Marty. She goes to Spain as a reporter, but it’s ages before she actually writes anything. It doesn’t take long before she becomes Hemingway’s lover. And if I didn’t connect with her, I had nothing but revulsion for him. He speaks of love but he just uses women and obviously thinks nothing of fidelity.

The book is at its best when McLain is describing the war scenes, whether in Spain, Finland or during WWII. It only came alive for me when Marty was on her own. It’s at its worst when Marty is describing her lovesickness for Ernest. The sappiness of the writing made me cringe. “His bed was an operating table, and this was heart surgery.” The sections that are written in Ernest’s voice never rang true. Meant to be all emotional and dark, they just fell flat to me and I could never believe it was his voice.

The ending is the best part of the book. McLain does a great job of describing the downward spiral of their marriage. And the author’s note, which tells of Gelhorn’s later years, seemed to capture her spirit best of all.

My thanks to netgalley and Ballantine Books for an advance copy of this novel.

Despite having read several novels concerning Ernest Hemingway and Martha Gellhorn, I found this to be a welcome addition to the compendium of literature surrounding these two writers. McLain has clearly done her homework and I learned more about the wars that they covered. The book begins with Martha meeting Ernest while he was still married to his second wife Pauline. It shows the evolution of their tempestuous relationship and ultimate marriage while attempting to delve into their inner mental life, providing a glimpse into their drive and fears. The development of the characters was very solid, and once again we are provided an inside glimpse into the life of Martha, a clearly independent spirit, way ahead of her times in women's rights, her strong work ethic and her astonishing body of work as a war reporter, often at the front lines. A really enjoyable read while broadening one's sense of these dynamic individuals.

This is the story of Martha Gellhorn, the third of Hemingway's wives and a novelist and reporter in her own right. Theirs was a love story that flamed bright and then went out just as quickly. They were jealous of each other's successes, and were constantly seperated as they each went off to report on the war. She was a fascinating woman who loved the danger and excitement of being on the front lines and seeing everything first hand.
I knew so little about Hemingway and even less about his wives so this story was really intriguing to me. She was empowering in a time when women were not meant to be empowered, and her accomplishments were great. This is a very captivating story that makes you feel as if you were there at her side.

Although this book is about the relationship between Martha Gellhorn and Ernest Hemingway, I enjoyed reading about her journalistic endeavors much more than I did her romance and marriage to Hemingway.

Martha first met Ernest on a holiday in Key West and from there they formed a friendship which turned into a romantic relationship that spanned from 1937 and the Spanish Civil War up until the end of World War II. Their relationship was consumed with writing, travel and quite a bit of alcohol.

Ernest is a bit larger than life and his needs seemed to suffocate Martha. Martha had an adventurous spirit and was not content to stay at home and be only a housewife. Ernest seemed to think that once married, Martha was to be at his disposal at all times. Ernest comes off as extremely self-centered. Having read Paula McClain’s earlier novel, The Paris Wife, I think it’s safe to say that Ernest was a successful writer, but an awful husband.

The book was a slow read for me and at times seem to drag on. I found much of the writing about Martha and Ernest to be filled with superficial content, such as what they were eating or how their writing was coming along. My favorite parts of the book were when Martha was on assignment in Finland and later in Europe--most especially her time in Normandy on D-Day. Martha’s life is wonderful as a story of it’s own. It’s a shame she often was known simply as one of Hemingway’s wives.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing- Ballantine for allowing me to read an advance copy and give my honest review.

I love Paula McLain’s historical fiction and always feel like it’s so well done I start to believe it’s real. In this novel, McLain moves on to Hemingway’s third wife, Martha Gellhorn and follows her struggle between being independent and going after her own dreams as a writer and her love for Ernest Hemingway. McLain’s writing and descriptions of places are just beautiful. Definitely a must read if you enjoyed The Paris Wife.

An amazing story of love at its best and at its worst. Martha (Marty) Gelhorn is a writer who meets Ernest Hemingway while he is still married to his second wife. Marty and Ernest begin a torrid love affair in Spain that continues into Cuba, where they seem to settle and write. But she is a war correspondent and eager to travel and write about WW2. That eventually becomes their downfall. This was a great read, and a nice follow-up after reading The Paris Wife.

Having read The Paris Wife, I was excited when I saw this book was coming out. I started reading it with high hopes, but instead got bogged down with thoughts of "This AGAIN?" More of Hemingway torturing the people he supposedly loved the most, all while looking out for himself and his wants and needs. I made myself finish it. If you are a Hemingway scholar, or don't know anything about his life, you may find this to be a good book. It is very well written, but the subject matter just got to me.

Love and Ruin tells the story of Martha Gellhorn a famous war corespondent and the third wife of Ernest Hemingway. In 1937 Martha travels to Spain to write about the atrocities during the Spanish Civil War. While there she meets Hemingway and falls quickly under his spell. The two begin an affair that will span years and thousands of miles around the world. But after Hemingway publishes his successful novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls, the two find themselves on unequal ground with Martha yearning to break free of her husband’s shadow.
.
.
I found Martha Gellhorn an incredible woman and inspiring role model. She throws herself into her stories and war reporting. However, I hate that she fell for a horrible and selfish man. It turned what would have been an amazing story of her life into a just okay read for me. I loved all of the parts about her and her experiences with conflict, but every part with Hemingway I just wanted to throw the book across the room. I did like this book a lot better than A Paris Wife. I would recommend this book to historical fiction lovers and those who like to read about inspirational women!
.
.
Thank you to Random House Publishing and and Paula McLain for providing me a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Love and Ruin will be released on May 1st.

Having previously read both [book:The Paris Wife|8683812] and [book:Circling the Sun|23995231], I was intrigued to get through a return to Hemingway with Love and Ruin. This is by far my favorite of these three - possibly because Marty was a force to be reckoned with herself and throughout the entire novel, works to keep herself even within her marriage to Hemingway. It was heartbreaking to imagine her work throughout World War II as her marriage was falling apart but also amazing to hear about her efforts to be present even in dangerous situations so she could report back. A moving historical read from an commonly written about time but with a unique twist.

I received this ARC through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a fictional account of the real life relationship of Martha Gellhorn and Ernest Hemingway. Even though it was fiction, it was so well written that I spent a good amount of time researching their real life relationship. The detail and amazing writing made this book one that I totally immersed myself in.

I'm sorry to say this was a DNF for me. I thought the writing was good, but the subject matter was more heavy on Hemingway and not really centered on the main character Martha Gellhorn. Maybe it was my timing or my mood, but I was not able to get into this book. Thank you NetGalley for the book in exchange for an honest opinion.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
WOW! I had to sit on this one a few days before I could review it. Very powerful, very good book! The time frame in the story is during the Spanish Civil War, ( which I had not heard of so had to look up! Love it when I learn something new! ) and WWII. Paula McLain has such a special way with writing that it's so powerful and interesting and and lyrical. Her words, at times, took away my breath! She grabs you and immerses you into the story.... and you are lost! The amount of research she had to do into Hemingway and Gellhorn had to be extensive and I appreciate her work. The characters in the book were written full of life and so interesting. If I could give this book more than a 5 star rating, I would, but for now, a very strong 5.

Paula McLain's masterful storytelling brings to life the love affair between Martha Gellhorn and Ernest Hemingway in her new biographical fiction novel Love and Ruin. She explores their love for each other and dependence on each other as well as the tensions that arise when two writers hope to accomplish the same thing: a voice in the world of literature. McLain tells a visceral story of self-discovery as Martha tries to find herself in love, war, and literature. Highly recommended.

Besides reading Hemingway's novels, I have never read any historical fiction based on his life. This was a first for me on the subject matter and a first time reading Paula McLain. She obviously knows her subject matter well and has done a ton of research about Hemingway and his life and loves.
I was first intrigued that the book took place during WWII (actually before WWII and through the war). I love books told during that time and that include a bit of history along with the story being told. But this was more than a story. It was about a woman that matched up to Hemingway and most any man in more ways than many woman did back in the 30's and 40's. Martha Hemingway, nee Martha Gellhorn was Hemingway's 3rd wife and this is her story.
Martha, aka Marty is the voice of this book. It is told from her POV along with a few small chapters of Hemingway brought in. I loved seeing a woman that paved her own way during a time that was mostly about men. She had a dream and went for it. She didn't let life or love hold her back. Which in some ways was a detriment to her relationships.
We follow the two through the starts of war in Europe, to Cuba, and many parts of the US. We get to see how life and their work affected their home lives and most important, their relationship with one another. The story left a little to be desired as far as getting to really see Martha and her written work in Europe (examples of her writing or seeing her success as opposed to the hearing about it the Author's Note would have been nice), but it at least let me see the strength of a woman and the desire to be better and equal to her counterparts. Even if I felt parts of the book were left unfulfilling, overall the feel of the book and the content of the book made up for it. The history was well researched and getting a voice from Hemingway gave the book the masculine POV that it may have been lacking otherwise.
Overall, a well researched book that will appeal to women that have a strength and need for reading about a woman that didn't care about limits. She was made to shatter those ceilings and make herself an equal. We need more of that now.

I am at a loss for words, to convey how amazing Paula McLain's Love and Ruin is. While I have read Ernest Hemingway's novels, I had no idea what a troubled life he lived. Totally fascinating and so well written that I felt sure Mrs McClain was with Hem and Martha, when all this took place. Definitely 5 stars from page one to the end. Her author notes had me in tears. I highly recommend this book to anyone that enjoys historical fiction.

He was already a living legend, having established himself as an outstanding author...Ernest Hemingway. She was trying to break into the journalism business, and had written two novels, one which didn't go over well and the second that met with some measure of success...Martha Gellhorn. The year was 1936, Franco was taking over Spain and Europe would soon erupt into WWII. On a vacation with her mother and brother in Key West, quite by accident, she meets Hemingway in a dimly lit bar. So it begins.

To "Marty" Hemingway was the hero in her life, someone she worshiped. To him, she was a new face in the crowd, he was drawn to her immediately. In 1937 he left to go to Spain where Franco was flexing his muscles and civil war was raging. Another adventure, a place where he could stave off the boredom of an ordinary life. He asked Marty to join him. Several months later she did working as a stringer (part-time news correspondent) for Collier's Magazine, where she had a front row seat to the horrors of war. Yet that was not all, as Hemingway throwing caution to the wind, professed his love for her and the affair commences.

They were together for 4 years before they were married and she was already having her doubts. He played the guilt card...which he was really good at...and they married. Hemingway was riding the crest of a wave, his fame and celebrity for his novel "For Whom The Bell Tolls" overtaking their lives together. Happy for his success, Martha wasn't content or comfortable with the celebrity or the fame that was stalking them. He was moody, manipulative, never really a happy person..she was being swallowed whole, lost within herself. Was he selfish wanting only what he wanted, or was she just striking out at him, not wanting to just be Mrs. Hemingway, but an equal as a writer? Martha was becoming an "also ran." Was she selfish, wanting to claim success for herself? He was struggling with his demons, they both were. For her it was the love of travel, the thrill of the chase as a journalist, for him it was the need for companionship, the fear of being alone. After seven years together, with the end of WWII, the marriage was over. To be honest there were 3 in this marriage, Hemingway, Gellhorn and his demons.

You could google Martha Gellhorn, you could go on Wikipedia or read her memoir, but nothing beats reading historical fiction. Six years ago I read The Paris Wife, also about Hemingway and knew then I would read whatever McLain writes. To say that this author is "haunted" by Hemingway is an understatement. In as much as this novel is about Gellhorn, it is about both of them. The book is fascinating, taking you to a time when Europe was erupting, when Spain was fighting for its life, its freedom. Hitler was coming into power and it wasn't even the calm before the storm. Then, of course, there is the relationship between the couple, the push and pull...it is the love of adventure and the ruination of their lives together, neither person happy or contented. The novel is exquisite in its prose, in its descriptions and well researched. Bravo Ms. McLain whatever you're writing next, I'm in!!

If you read no other novel this year, read this one. My thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the Paris Wife so much. So I was really looking forward to reading this one. It did not disappoint. It was so good. Paula McClain really knows how to suck you into a world. The descriptions are so beautiful. I love all the history that is packed into this on. I had no idea Martha was such a proliferic journalist. I really loved this book.

If you loved The Paris Wife, and longed for more of Ernest Hemingway's complicated love affairs, this book will not disappoint. Paula McLain fuses real history with beautiful words and plausible scenes to share a story about the beloved storyteller himself. I couldn't stop highlighting and bookmarking pages as learned about the Spanish Civil War, what life was really like for a female writer in the 1930s, and how easily love can turn to ruin.